COMMERCIAL ONLINE SERVICES

Listed below is information about some of the larger commercial database vendors. Fraud examiners can shop various services to find the one that meets their needs in the most cost-effective manner. In some instances, it may be necessary to use more than one service to get an accurate and complete profile. These companies get their information from various sources and on various update schedules, so a search in any one database may return different results than a search done elsewhere.

Asset Locator and Business Background Check by KnowX

KnowX is a product of the LexisNexis Risk and Information Analytics Group, and it claims to be the most comprehensive source of public information on the Web. It offers easily navigable public records searches in various categories, including asset searches, adverse filings, property valuation, and people- and business-locator tools. Users can also verify licenses, conduct background checks, and look up a company's history.

Most importantly, users can run KnowX's business background check to uncover bankruptcies, judgments, lawsuits, liens, and UCC filings against a business with one search. In addition, KnowX's asset locator service enables users to locate assets such as real estate, aircraft, and watercraft with one search. KnowX can also be used to verify ownership and assess property value. KnowX can be found at www.knowx.com.

LexisNexis

In one form or another, LexisNexis has been in the information business for nearly 30 years; it is currently one of the leading electronic data firms in the world. Users can obtain access to public records, media publications, and court cases and records. (http://www.lexisnexis.com)

Insperity Employment Screening

Insperity Employment Screening, formerly US Datalink, is an employee background check service. Although it cannot retrieve information as quickly as some other vendors, Insperity is one of the only companies that uses manual searches to obtain information. For example, Insperity uses its network of researchers to search local courts for the requested information, as opposed to using potentially out-of-date and inaccurate online or CD-ROM databases that other online investigative databases use. Therefore, if a fraud examiner has the time to wait for an inquiry, Insperity might be the most reliable option. Insperity also has media resources. Insperity can be found at www.insperityscreening.com.

infoUSA

infoUSA compiles business and consumer data, and it offers a wide range of data processing services. Searches of infoUSA's database can produce results for a broad range of information, including sales volume, corporate linkage, contact names and titles, company history, credit ratings, and any headlines involving the business. Furthermore, the versatility of its searches is one of infoUSA's better features; searches can be performed according to business size, location, length of time in operation, gender or race of owners, and industry. infoUSA is located at www.infousa.com.

Veris

Veris is a Social Security validation service; it specializes in providing verification of Social Security numbers, possible mail drop addresses, dates of birth, and death records. Veris allows an investigator to match a Social Security number to a name; however, this service is costly (cost per search begins at around $115, but the actual cost depends on the type of search and number of searches being conducted) but very accurate. Veris can be accessed at www.veris-ssn.com.

CSC

CSC is a Web-based due diligence service. It is a great database for retrieving information about businesses. With its weekly database updates, CSC's strength lies in the reliability of its public record information. CSC can produce a business's financial statements, records pertaining to corporate status, business credit, and licensing information. UCC filings, bankruptcy, judgments, and corporate good-standing searches are just a few of their services. CSC is located at www.diligenz.com.

Dialog

Dialog offers users with access to more than 1,200 databases. It contains nearly 2 billion records, including references and abstracts of published literature; statistical tables; the full text of selected articles; and directory, business, and financial data. Dialog can be accessed at www.dialog.com.

D&B

D&B is a business information service provider. D&B is probably one of the most comprehensive and diverse sources available, with facts on more than 130 million companies in more than 190 countries. D&B is renowned for products like Business Information Report and Industry Norms and Key Business Ratios, both excellent tools. It is located at www.dnb.com.

DCS Information Systems

DCS Information Systems (http://www.dcsinfosys.com) is an established source for investigative information. DCS provides online investigative solutions for business and government—from financial institutions to law enforcement or investigators. Their online database products help organizations prevent and detect fraud; verify application information; screen potential employees; and locate debtors, missing persons, heirs, or assets. DCS provides information comprising public records and publicly available information. Its AmeriFind online resource system is separated into three areas:

• PrimeData, which provides banking and finance information
• QuickFind, which serves general investigations, security, and fraud detection and prevention
• FraudTracer, which serves insurance fraud investigations and claims

TLO

TLO is an online investigative system that specializes in “data fusion.” Their TLOxp Online Investigative System houses a repository of public and proprietary records that can be used to conduct background research on people, assets, and businesses. TLO can be accessed at www.tlo.com.

SEARCH ENGINES

Search engines are online tools that allow users to type in keywords describing the subject they are interested in. The search engine will then scour the pages of the Internet and attempt to locate pages that may have pertinent information. There are several prominent search engines on the Internet, and each works in different ways.

Google

Google is the most used search engine in the U.S. and has advanced search capabilities. Individual Web pages are ranked by the engine's software according to how often the page is linked to by others, determining the page's “importance” by the number of links and the identity of the linking page.

Bing

Bing is an Internet search engine from Microsoft. Bing automatically groups search results in different categories, depending on the type of search users are conducting.

Altavista

Altavista is a detail-oriented search engine. Because it reads through the individual text of every page listed on the Internet, Altavista is very useful for finding random information.

Yahoo!

Yahoo! is a multifaceted website that is equipped with an excellent search engine. Yahoo!'s filters will return far fewer pages than Altavista, concentrating on ten to twenty pages that will likely be of interest. Therefore, Yahoo! should not be used to look for hard-to-find information, but it is a good source for locating information that the user knows is out there.

Meta-search Engines

Meta-search engines send user requests to several other search engines and display the results. Some of the more common meta-search engines include the following.

• Metacrawler uses meta-search technology to search the Internet's top search engines, including Google, Yahoo!, Bing, and more.
• Dogpile sends the search terms to a customizable list of search engines, directories, and specialty search sites and then displays the results from each search engine individually.
• Mamma is a “smart” meta-search engine, meaning that every time a user types in a query, Mamma simultaneously searches a variety of engines, directories, and deep content sites; properly formats the words and syntax for each; compiles their results in a virtual database; eliminates duplicates; and displays them in a uniform manner according to relevance.
• SurfWax is a meta-search engine that provides a single interface to a number of search engines; it offers multiple search tools, including FocusWords, SearchSets, SiteSnaps, and ContextZooming.

SOCIAL-NETWORKING SITES

Social-networking sites, designed to facilitate the sharing of users' information about themselves and their interests, have become an important part of fraud examinations. Examiners can often discover useful information about their subjects, including contact information, habits, relationships, recent activities, pictures, attitudes, and so on. While there are many social networks, the most common are listed below:

• Facebook (http://www.facebook.com) provides a forum for its users to add friends; post messages, photos, and videos; and join networks.
• Twitter (http://www.twitter.com) enables its users to send and read short, text-based messages (140 characters or less).
• LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com) is a professional networking site where members can establish and build a network of work-related connections.
• Google+ (https://plus.google.com/) is Google's social-networking site where members can add contacts and organize them into “circles” based on how they are connected.
• MySpace (http://www.myspace.com), which has waned in popularity in recent years, allows its users to establish a free profile within the MySpace network where they can interact with friends, family, and colleagues. The site allows members to share photos, updates, and interests with a community of millions.
• Qzone (http://qzone.qq.com/), a social network that targets users in mainland China, enables users to write blogs, send photos, and listen to music.
• Orkut (http://www.orkut.com) is designed to help users meet new friends and maintain existing relationships. Although Orkut is less popular in the United States than Facebook, it is one of the most visited sites in India and Brazil.
• hi5 (http://hi5.com) aims for an international audience with a localized interface that is available in many languages.

Social-Networking Search Engines

There is an ever growing number of Internet resources for searching social-networking sites. These tools use social networks to order, prioritize, or refine search results. The following are some popular social-networking search engines that can be useful in locating information about individuals.

• Icerocket (http://www.icerocket.com) specializes in real-time search technology and allows users to search blogs, the news, and popular social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook.
• Spokeo (http://www.spokeo.com) gathers information about people by searching for their email addresses on various social-networking sites.
• Technorati (http://technorati.com) allows users to search websites hosting blogs, posts, and other shared content.
• FriendFeed (http://www.friendfeed.com) consolidates updates from social-networking sites, social bookmarking sites, blogs, and other types of RSS feeds.
• Zoominfo (http://www.zoominfo.com) finds information about people, companies, and jobs.
• Lococitato (http://www.lococitato.com) provides online tools to visually map, search, and record social networks.

PUBLIC RECORDS

Court Information

• PACER (http://www.pacer.gov) provides access to civil and criminal cases from U.S. district courts, including a national search of all available courts, as well as access to U.S. bankruptcy and appellate courts.
• The U.S. Tax Court (http://www.ustaxcourt.gov) is an invaluable source for personal financial information, including, on occasion, tax returns and bank account information.
• The National Center for State Courts (http://www.ncsc.org) provides links to federal, state, local, and international courts.
• Courtlink (https://courtlink.lexisnexis.com) provides access to the calendar of proceedings of a lawsuit (docket) and the documents filed during the course of that suit. This site also offers information on strategic profiles, alerts of new cases being filed, tracking of ongoing cases, and document retrieval.

Criminal Records

• The Federal Bureau of Prisons' Inmate Locater (http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/LocateInmate.jsp) allows investigators to determine if an individual has been incarcerated in a federal prison from 1982 to present. (Archived information on anyone incarcerated prior to 1982 can be obtained by writing the Federal Bureau of Prisons.) This site also lists telephone numbers for each state's Department of Corrections that will provide similar information.
• The Sex Offenders Registry (http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cid/cac/states.htm) provides links to state sex offender registries.
• The GA Public Records Services (GAPRS) (http://www.gaprs.biz) can run an onsite criminal record search in any county in the United States. GAPRS provides affordable search services for employment screening, corporate due diligence, fraud investigations, private investigations, and tenant screenings. Average cost (per county): $8.
• Statewide Criminal Record Searches can be conducted through the Federal Bureau of Prisons' website (http://www.bop.gov), GAPRS (http://www.gaprs.biz), LexisNexis (http://www.lexisnexis.com), and Searchsystems.net (http://www.searchsystems.net).

Personal Identification Information

• The Social Security Administration's Master Death Index (http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=3693) is searchable by name, Social Security number, last known address, or dates of birth and death, and lists the names of people who have died and for whom death claims have been filed.
• Anybirthday.com (http://www.anybirthday.com), a site that has collected approximately 140 million birthdays from public records, can be a useful resource for finding and/or verifying personal identification information.
• The Selective Service System website (http://www.sss.gov) is another important resource for verifying personal data; it requires name, date of birth, and Social Security number.
• Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com) provides access to a wide array of vital records, census and voter lists, and other information.

Locating Individuals

• Infospace (http://www.infospace.com) has a white-pages search function that provides residential and business phone numbers and addresses. It also contains directories of e-mail addresses and fax numbers and allows for reverse address and phone searches.
• Intelius (http://www.intelius.com/) enables searches of phone numbers, as well as reverse lookups, in addition to background checks and criminal records searches.
• Switchboard.com (http://www.switchboard.com) and 411.com (http://www.411.com) are two sites for conducting residential searches.
• DCS Information Systems (http://www.dcsinfosys.com) allows searches by first name, age range, and other identifiers.
• Missingmoney.com (http://www.missingmoney.com) provides access to a national database of state-unclaimed property records.

Enforcement Actions

• The List of Parties Excluded from Federal Procurement and Nonprocurement Programs (https://www.sam.gov), provided by the General Service Administration (GSA) and searchable through the System for Award Management (SAM), denotes parties that are excluded from receiving federal contracts, certain subcontracts, and certain federal financial and nonfinancial assistance and benefits.
• The Bureau of Industry and Security's List of Denied Persons (http://www.bis.doc.gov/dpl) provides a list of parties who have been denied export privileges by the U.S. Department of Commerce.
• The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls website (http://www.pmddtc.state.gov) contains information on compliance with laws and regulations pertaining to defense trade controls.
• The Inspectors General website (http://www.ignet.gov) provides a directory of and information collected from the inspectors general for more than 70 federal agencies.
• The Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) Prohibition Orders Database (http://www.ots.treas.gov/?p=EnforcementSearch) contains a list of OTS enforcement orders prohibiting the named institution-affiliated parties from participating in the affairs of insured depository institutions, certain other federally chartered institutions, and federal depository institution regulations.
• The SEC Enforcement Actions database (http://www.sec.gov/divisions/enforce.shtml) allows users to search SEC records to determine if a company or an individual has been the subject of any SEC enforcement actions.
• LexisNexis CourtLink (http://courtlink.lexisnexis.com) specializes in searching the records of federal agencies. It also retrieves court documents nationwide and files Freedom of Information Act requests.
• The World Bank Listing of Ineligible Firms (http://www.worldbank.org) provides a list of companies found to have violated the fraud and corruption provisions of the World Bank's Procurement Guidelines or the Consultants Guidelines.

Additional Government Resources

• The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) website (http://www.fdic.gov/bank/statistical/guide/index.html) provides searchable databases that allow users to find institutions and their branches to determine their status as insured depository institutions, their financial condition, and their condition relative to other institutions. The available data also contains other financial and nonfinancial information about individual financial institutions.
• The SEC's EDGAR System (http://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/webusers.htm) provides free online access and full-text search of a company's SEC's filings.
• Fedworld (http://www.fedworld.gov) provides access to thousands of U.S. government sites.
• USA.gov (http://www.usa.gov) is the most comprehensive collection of U.S. government websites. Administered by the U.S. General Services Administration's Office of Citizen Services and Communications, this site makes it easy for the public to get U.S. government information and services online.
• PoliticalMoneyLine (http://www.politicalmoneyline.com/) provides information concerning political contributions to federal candidates (and some candidates for statewide offices, as well).
• The Center for Responsive Politics (http://www.opensecrets.org) allows users to track federal campaign contributions and lobbying activity.

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

• The Reporters' Committee for Freedom of the Press (http://www.rcfp.org) provides information about federal and state FOIA laws, the use of hidden cameras, and a state-by-state listing of laws regarding the legality of taping telephone conversations.
• The Department of Justice (http://www.justice.gov) houses the Office of Information and Privacy, which administers the FOIA.

Sites with Extensive Public Record Links

• KnowX (http://www.knowx.com) offers public records searches in various categories, including asset searches, adverse filings, property valuation, and people- and business-locator tools. Users can also verify licenses, conduct background checks, and look up a company's history.
• BRB Publishing (http://www.brbpub.com) provides links to a variety of public record resources and has a database of public record retrievers.
• Investigative Reporters and Editors (http://www.ire.org) offers a database library containing government data on a variety of subjects.
• Docusearch (http://www.docusearch.com) provides links to state resources.
• Refdesk (http://www.refdesk.com) indexes and provides reviews for thousands of current web-based reference resources.
• Hoover's (http://www.hoovers.com) provides comprehensive, up-to-date business information for professionals who need intelligence on U.S. and global companies, industries, and professionals.
• Fuld and Company (http://www.fuld.com) provides access to a large collection of corporate information.
• Corporate Information (http://www.corporateinformation.com) provides corporate information on the leading companies in more than 65 countries. The site also offers extensive analysis reports available for subscription.
• Clear (https://clear.thomsonreuters.com) allows users to browse and search through billions of current and historical records on individuals and businesses. Users can also set up alerts that will notify them of any changes in information on a designated party.
• Dialog.com (http://www.dialog.com) offers database access to billions of records, including references and abstracts of published literature; statistical tables; the full text of selected articles; and directory, business, and financial data.

NEWS SEARCHES

As sources of information go, few can match the detail and depth of valuable facts that are found in daily newspapers. Fortunately for the investigator, many of the nation's major newspapers are available online for free. Most newspaper sites will execute archive searches on behalf of the user. Articles from newspaper archives are often free of charge, but some sites do charge the user to search the newspaper's archives.

• LexisNexis (http://www.lexisnexis.com) is a legal and business information database that provides subscribers with daily newspapers for either a flat fee or a per-use fee.
• Factiva (http://www.factiva.com) is a database tailored for business or financial news searches, maintaining a catalog of the world's leading news and business sources from nearly 200 countries.
• Highbeam Research (http://www.highbeam.com) maintains an extensive archive of more than 80 million documents from leading publications that are updated daily, going back over 25 years. Searchable sources include newspapers, magazines, journals, transcripts, books, dictionaries, and almanacs.
• Newslink (http://www.newslink.org) provides links to newspapers, magazines, radio/TV websites, and other resources.

OTHER SOURCES OF INFORMATION

University Libraries

Another key source of information on the Internet is the vast number of university library archives. The majority of online libraries allow users to search or browse an online catalog of publications and articles available within the library stacks.

State Government Listings

All states have websites available to the public; some sites are more useful than others. Most of the sites have links to a state's insurance department and then to its fraud bureau's site. The sites might also have information concerning legislation that could be of importance to the fraud examiner.

Maps

If a fraud examiner has an address and wishes to view a map of the location, there are several services (e.g., Google Maps, Yahoo! Maps, and MapQuest) that allow users to enter an address and view a map of the area. Most of these sites also give directions to get to the address and provide information about the surrounding area. Additionally, some sites provide satellite images of the location, allowing investigators to zoom in on an aerial photograph of the site.

International Websites

Increasingly, investigations reach across geographical borders, and websites for other countries may be of use to the investigator. The search engines that are specific to a country can cut research time considerably. In addition, government and law enforcement sites for other countries are also particularly useful, and some of their links back to websites in the United States are very complete.